The 1983 CART PPG Indy Car World Series season was the 5th national championship season of American open wheel racing sanctioned by CART. The season consisted of 13 races. Al Unser was the national champion, and the rookie of the year was Teo Fabi. The 1983 Indianapolis 500 was sanctioned by USAC, but an arrangement was made such that it counted towards the CART points championship. Tom Sneva won the Indy 500, after three previous runner-up finishes.

Al Unser jumped out to the early points lead, with second-place finishes in the first three races of the season. Unser finished second at Indianapolis to Tom Sneva, but not without some controversy. Rookie Al Unser Jr. was accused of blocking for his father, but Sneva prevailed, making the winning pass with ten laps to go. Unser won at Cleveland, finished second at the Michigan 500, and third at Road America. After 6 of 13 races, Unser had a 35-point lead over Tom Sneva in the standings.

Rookie Teo Fabi made headlines at Indianapolis, becoming the first rookie to win the pole since 1950. His car dropped out, however, with a failed fuel o-ring. After a mixed start to the year, Fabi's season came alive in July, winning his first career race at the Pocono 500. Fabi jumped from 8th in points to as high as second following his win at Mid-Ohio. Fabi began to whittle away at Unser's point lead. Unser was running consistently, and had no finish worse than 11th.

In the next-to-last race of the season at Laguna Seca, Fabi dominated. He won the pole position and led 95 of 98 laps, winning his third race of the season. With only one race to go, Unser's point lead was down to 15 points. At the season finale in Phoenix, Fabi put in another dominating performance. He won the pole and led 138 of 150 laps. Fabi's championship hopes, however, fell just short as Al Unser came home 4th. Al Unser won the title by a mere 5 points over Fabi.

Other top stories from 1983 included Newman/Haas Racing joining the series with driver Mario Andretti plus a new chassis from Lola, and the rookie debut of Al Unser Jr. Though Unser Jr. did not win any races, he had ten top-10 finishes en route to 7th in points.

Drivers and constructors The following teams and drivers competed for the 1983 CART World Series. All competitors utilized Goodyear tires. Team/Car OwnerNoDriversRounds Alex Morales Motorsports 21 Pancho Carter All All American Racers 98 Jeff Wood 11-12 Alsup Racing 11 Bill Alsup 1, 3-5, 7, 9-10, 12-13 Arciero Racing 66 Pete Halsmer 1, 3-13 Johnny Parsons 2 Armstrong Mould Racing Team 43 Steve Krisiloff 2 BC Pace Racing 36 Chuck Ciprich 7 Bettenhausen Racing 10 Tony Bettenhausen Jr. All 82 Gary Bettenhausen 13 90 Derek Daly 6, 9, 11-13 Bignotti-Cotter Racing 5 Tom Sneva All 6 Kevin Cogan 1, 3-13 16 2 Bob Ward Racing 47 Bob Ward 8 Brayton Racing 35 Patrick Bedard 2, 5, 7 37 Scott Brayton 2, 4-5, 7, 10-11 Circle Bar Auto Racing 38 Chet Fillip 1-2, 10 Circle Bar Auto Racing w/ Caliva Racing Phil Caliva 8 Dick Simon Racing 32 Dick Simon 6 22 1-3, 5, 8-11, 13 Jorge Koechlin 12 Doug Shierson Racing 30 Howdy Holmes All Douglas Schulz 48 Tom Klausler 6, 8 Forsythe Racing 33 Teo Fabi All Galles Racing 17 Al Unser Jr. 1, 3-13 19 2 Gilmore Racing 1 George Snider 2 14 A. J. Foyt 2 Gohr Racing 56 Steve Chassey 1-8, 11-13 GTS Racing 86 Drake Olson 6 Al Loquasto 7 H&R Racing 28 Gary Bettenhausen 3, 7, 9 Herm Johnson 9 HBK Racing 70 Tom Bigelow 3 78 5 Herm Johnson Racing 42 Herm Johnson 4-5 Hoffman Racing 86 Dick Ferguson 5 Intercomp Racing 92 John Mahler 2 Interscope Racing 25 Danny Ongais 2 Jet Engineering 64 Greg Leffler 6, 8-9 Tom Bigelow 12 Joel McCray Racing 46 Phil Krueger 1, 3-4, 9 Kraco Enterprises 18 Mike Mosley 1-8, 10, 13 Geoff Brabham 11-12 99 8, 10 Michael Andretti 11-13 Leader Card Racers 8 Johnny Parsons 5 Tom Bagley 7 Randy Lewis 12 24 Chip Mead 9-10 Machinists Union Racing 9 Roger Mears 1-4, 6-13 55 Josele Garza 2, 4-12 McElreath Racing 23 Jim McElreath 1, 5, 7 Newman/Haas Racing 3 Mario Andretti All Patrick Racing 40 Johnny Rutherford 1, 7, 10-11, 13 Danny Ongais 4-6 60 3 20 7-9 60 Chip Ganassi 2, 4-5, 7, 9-13 20 6 Gordon Johncock 1-5 Primus Racing 72 Chris Kneifel 2, 4-13 Racing Team VDS 12 John Paul Jr. 1, 4-13 Geoff Brabham 2 Rattlesnake Racing w/ Agajanian Curb 29 Mike Chandler 2 19 5 Dick Ferguson 7 Rhoades Racing 41 Doug Heveron 1 46 Jerry Karl 7-8 61 3, 5 Simpson Sports 90 Dennis Firestone 2 Team Penske 1 Rick Mears 1, 3-13 2 2 7 Al Unser All Tempero Racing 15 Bill Tempero 4, 9 Truesports 2 Bobby Rahal 1, 3-12 4 2 Whittington Racing 91 Don Whittington 2, 5, 7 94 Bill Whittington 2, 4, 7 Wysard Racing 34 Derek Daly 1-2 Desiré Wilson 3, 6-9, 11-13 Geoff Brabham 5

Schedule

Of the notable changes to the schedule, there were the additions of the Caesars Palace Grand Prix, which was formerly a Formula One championship event, and Laguna Seca Raceway. The Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio returned to the schedule after a 2 year hiatus, and finally starting this season there would only be one race per season at the Milwaukee Mile.

Icon Legend Oval/Speedway Road course Street circuitC Cancelled race

+RdDateNameCircuitLocation CMarch 20* Kraco Car Stereo 150 Phoenix International RacewayAvondale, Arizona1April 17 Kraco Dixie 200 Atlanta Motor SpeedwayHampton, Georgia2May 29 Indianapolis 500 Indianapolis Motor SpeedwayIndianapolis, Indiana3June 12 Gould Rex Mays Classic Milwaukee MileWest Allis, Wisconsin4July 3 Budweiser Cleveland 500 Burke Lakefront AirportCleveland, Ohio5July 17 Norton Michigan 500 Michigan International SpeedwayBrooklyn, Michigan6July 31 Provimi Veal 200 Road AmericaElkhart Lake, Wisconsin7August 14 Domino's Pizza 500 Pocono International RacewayLong Pond, Pennsylvania8August 29** Budweiser 500K Riverside International RacewayRiverside, California9September 11 Escort Radar Warning 200 Mid-Ohio Sports Car CourseLexington, Ohio10September 26 Detroit News Grand Prix Michigan International SpeedwayBrooklyn, Michigan11October 8 Caesars Palace Grand Prix Caesars PalaceLas Vegas, Nevada12October 23 Cribari Wines 300k Laguna Seca RacewayMonterey, California13October 29 Miller High Life 150 Phoenix International RacewayAvondale, Arizona * The season-opening Phoenix race was cancelled due to flooding.

** The Riverside race was scheduled for August 28, but pushed a day due to rain.

Results Rd Race name Pole position Fastest lap Winning driver Winning teamRace time Report 1 Kraco Dixie 200 Rick Mears 26.730 Gordon Johncock Patrick Racing1:22:29 Report 2 Indianapolis 500 Teo Fabi 2:53.582 Tom Sneva Bignotti-Cotter Racing3:05:03 Report 3 Gould Rex Mays Classic Teo Fabi 26.259 Tom Sneva Bignotti-Cotter Racing1:17:42 Report 4 Budweiser Cleveland 500 Mario Andretti 1:13.516 Al Unser Penske Racing2:51:54 Report 5 Norton Michigan 500 Teo Fabi 35.621 John Paul Jr. VDS Racing3:42:27 Report 6 Provimi Veal 200 Mario Andretti 1:58.898 Mario Andretti Newman/Haas Racing2:00:42 Report 7 Domino's Pizza 500 Tom Sneva 46.912 Teo Fabi Forsythe Racing3:42:28 Report 8 Budweiser 500K Teo Fabi 1:30.887 Bobby Rahal Truesports2:45:28 Report 9 Escort Radar Warning 200 Bobby Rahal 1:21.364 Teo Fabi Forsythe Racing2:01:49 Report 10 Detroit News Grand Prix Bobby Rahal 35.075 Rick Mears Penske Racing1:05:49 Report 11 Caesars Palace Grand Prix John Paul Jr. 34.888 Mario Andretti Newman/Haas Racing2:17:48 Report 12 Cribari Wines 300k Teo Fabi 56.920 Teo Fabi Forsythe Racing1:44:28 Report 13 Miller High Life 150 Teo Fabi 24.947 Teo Fabi Forsythe Racing1:11:03 Report

* Indianapolis was USAC-sanctioned but counted towards the CART title.

Final points standings

Pos Driver ATL INDY MIL CLE MIS1 ROA POC RIV MOH MIS2 CPL LAG PHX Pts 1 Al Unser 2 2 2 1* 2 3 11 11 4 5 4 11 4 151 2 Teo Fabi 20 26 4 3 15 15 1* 2 1* 3 25 1* 1* 146 3 Mario Andretti 5 23 18 15 3 1 7 16 2 4 1* 2 2 133 4 Tom Sneva 14 1* 1* 5 25 4 12 5 7 21 15 18 3 96 5 Bobby Rahal 21 20 6 19 5 10* 5 1 3 2 9 7 DNS 94 6 Rick Mears 8* 3 3 7 4 17 3 19 9 1* 13 21 17 92 7 Al Unser Jr. 6 10 13 9 7 2 2 4* 18 10 10 4 8 89 8 John Paul Jr. 3 DNQ 21 1* 5 29 3 20 7 2 26 11 84 9 Chip Ganassi 8 13 8 21 26 25 6 3 3 5 56 10 Pancho Carter 16 7 14 8 6 7 6 7 10 15 6 25 10 53 11 Pete Halsmer 4 DNQ 9 2 33 14 14 27 24 14 5 20 7 48 12 Roger Mears 7 28 8 6 DNQ 8 16 9 12 16 7 6 16 43 13 Howdy Holmes 9 6 7 12 32 16 13 13 8 8 17 5 21 39 14 Mike Mosley 13 13 5 4 17 25 4 24 DNQ 11 24 36 15 Kevin Cogan 15 5 20 25 27 19 15 21 6 20 16 22 6 26 16 Gordon Johncock 1 14 23 26 26 20 17 Chris Kneifel 12 27 9 26 8 22 13 24 8 9 15 19 18 Tony Bettenhausen Jr. 10 17 10 18 18 12 10 8 14 9 21 14 18 19 19 Steve Chassey 17 11 19 22 10 6 25 17 12 10 19 17 20 Danny Ongais 21 12 28 23 18 24 10 5 14 21 Geoff Brabham 4 22 18 12 20 16 13 22 Josele Garza 25 17 19 11 9 20 23 17 11 12 9 23 Tom Klausler 22 6 DNQ 8 24 Jeff Wood 22 8 5 25 Scott Brayton 9 24 12 28 13 26 5 26 Derek Daly 22 19 DNS 9 22 18 23 22 4 27 Michael Andretti 19 24 9 4 28 Desiré Wilson DNQ 10 20 31 14 16 23 19 13 3 29 Dick Simon DNQ 15 11 14 13 25 15 19 14 23 2 30 Jim McElreath 11 13 23 2 31 Greg Leffler DNQ DNQ 24 15 11 2 32 Phil Krueger DNQ DNQ 17 11 27 2 33 Dick Ferguson DNQ 11 22 2 34 Jerry Karl DNQ 16 DNQ 21 32 12 1 35 Gary Bettenhausen DNQ 22 27 DNS 12 1 36 Doug Heveron 12 DNQ 1 37 Randy Lewis 13 0 38 Bill Alsup DNS DNQ 21 20 16 20 19 22 27 14 0 39 Tom Bigelow DNQ 15 DNQ 29 17 DNQ 0 40 Bill Whittington 18 15 19 0 41 Jorge Koechlin 15 0 42 Herm Johnson DNQ 16 24 DNQ 17 0 43 Mike Chandler 16 31 0 44 Patrick Bedard 30 28 17 0 45 Chet Fillip 19 33 DNQ 18 0 46 Johnny Rutherford 18 Wth 21 23 24 20 0 47 Al Loquasto DNQ 18 0 48 Don Whittington 27 20 33 0 49 Bill Tempero DNQ 23 DNQ 21 0 50 Johnny Parsons 22 30 0 51 Phil Caliva DNQ 23 0 52 Drake Olson DNQ 23 0 53 Dennis Firestone 24 0 54 Chip Mead 26 25 0 55 Bob Ward 26 DNQ DNS 0 56 Steve Krisiloff 29 DNQ 0 57 Chuck Ciprich DNQ 30 0 58 A. J. Foyt 31 0 59 George Snider 32 0 60 Tom Bagley DNQ 34 0 - Richard Hubbard DNQ DNQ DNQ 0 - Barry Ruble DNQ DNQ 0 - Teddy Pilette DNQ DNS 0 - Harry MacDonald DNQ 0 - Mark Alderson DNQ 0 - Jim Buick DNQ 0 - Larry Cannon DNQ 0 - Bob Frey DNQ 0 - Amber Furst DNQ 0 - Spike Gehlhausen DNQ 0 - Bob Harkey DNQ 0 - Sheldon Kinser DNQ 0 - Bob Lazier DNQ 0 - John Mahler DNQ 0 - Mack McClellan DNQ 0 - Graham McRae DNQ 0 - Dave Peperak DNQ 0 - Roger Rager DNQ 0 - Ken Schrader DNQ 0 - Jerry Sneva DNQ 0 - Rich Vogler DNQ 0 - Bill Vukovich II DNQ 0 - John Morton DNQ 0 - Lee Kunzman DNP 0 - Dave McMillan DNP 0 - Bobby Olivero DNP 0 - Bill Puterbaugh DNP 0 - Larry Rice DNP 0 - Dale Whittington DNP 0 Pos Driver ATL INDY MIL CLE MIS1 ROA POC RIV MOH MIS2 CPL LAG PHX Pts Color Result Gold Winner Silver 2nd place Bronze 3rd place Green 4th-6th place Light Blue 7th-12th place Dark Blue Finished(Outside Top 12) Purple Did not finish Red Did not qualify(DNQ) Brown Withdrawn(Wth) Black Disqualified(DSQ) White Did not start(DNS) Blank Did notparticipate(DNP) Not competing In-line notationBoldPole positionItalicsRan fastest race lap*Led most race laps Rookie of the Year Rookie

See also 1982–83 USAC Championship Car season 1983 Formula Atlantic season 1983 Indianapolis 500 1983–84 USAC Championship Car season http://www.champcarstats.com/year/1983.htm http://media.indycar.com/pdf/2011/IICS_2011_Historical_Record_Book_INT6.pdf (p. 193–194)

References